Realistic Concertmate MG-1

sundaeclubber · Post by **sundaeclubber** » Sat Jul 10, 2004 12:17 pm

Can any MG-1 owners out their tell me how they rate their machines and what exactly they like about them? I sold an MG-1 about a year ago and genuinely don't miss it. The polyphony section was terribly basic and the monosynth section had none of the performance controls associated with a traditional Moog Synthesizer. The MG-1 was adapted from the Liberation which had performance controls on the 'neck' section, and always seemed to me like it was aimed at the bemulletted '80s Poseur rather than the musician. Even so, at least it was a complete instrument.

Coming back to this forum after about 9 months or so I notice loads of MG-1 owners posting on the forum and new members being advised to buy one as a taster of Moog at a budget price.. Why??

Someone tell me I've ditched a valuable and versatile synth! Go on!! Upset me!!

radmike · Post by **radmike** » Sat Jul 10, 2004 4:36 pm

yeah, youre nuts.the mg-1 is just like a liberation and a rougue for a lot less. Fat analog sound - 2 oscillators cv i/o, cool mods. The only thing that missing is the wooden case and pitch wheel.

sundaeclubber · Post by **sundaeclubber** » Sat Jul 10, 2004 5:43 pm

radmike wrote:yeah, youre nuts.the mg-1 is just like a liberation and a rougue for a lot less. Fat analog sound - 2 oscillators cv i/o, cool mods.

What cool mods?!

SCx

synthchick · Post by **synthchick** » Sun Sep 19, 2004 3:38 am

Well,
In my personal opinion, Personally I absolutely adore my Realistic Moog MG-1. The way I acquired it was somewhat odd. It costed me around $35.00. Phat sounds are able to come out of it. you do have to do some tweaking.... it can sound like a helicopter ( Pink Floyd) You can run it thru midi with the right patch cords. and the left and right- sounds great thru an Ampeg..my ampeg has a right input and a left-each speaker is loud for its own side. and they blend nicely...(I used to play it thru a peavy bassman50 thru an Orange...and that sounds good as well)
It's not programmable but if you can remember the settings...which i can.....i have used it live. for only a few different songs. but still its got that vintage thick sound. heavy-and unique.... i wouldnt trade it for anything. i wouldnt even know how much to ask for it if someone were wanting to buy it.......here's how I got this little mad pup in my possession... I traded a Hondo electric guitar for it. someone gave me their pawn ticket on the last day so i went and bought this funky white Hondo guitar....and then, i dont even play electric guitar...not hardly . so when my guitarist offered the trade i was stunned. he didnt have to ask twice. later i saw him smash that guitar too.....it's gone...well...he saved the pickups....haha-unbelievable. but i cherish my moogy baby- mg1 realistic...
sincerely
synth

sundaeclubber · Post by **sundaeclubber** » Sun Sep 19, 2004 7:13 am

Sweet!!

I boughgt my MG-1 for £10 in the late 1980s, and a Rogue for £5 with a missing AC adapter. I've sold them both now I have a Model D and I'd never sell my Prodigy because I've had it since I was 16, but I was just interested to know what everyone thought of the MG-1

I think I sold the MG-1 to a dealer (Music Control?) for about £150 or £200 about 3 years ago. Worth more now I expect, and they had to make a profit, but I had a good deal from them on the purchase of other synths.....

SCx

mee3d · Post by **mee3d** » Sun Sep 19, 2004 5:44 pm

Don't you think this is all relative?

If the only moog that you own or have played is an MG-1 then that's the greatest thing ever . . . that's why many people rate the MG-1 as it probably is their first moog (and why it was a hit for Radio Shack/Tandys).

It should have been marketed by TOMY and called "My first moog".

When you upgrade to a Prodigy . . . then later a Multimoog . . . and finally a minimoog, the MG-1 pales in comparison . . . but wasn't it great for that short while?

Mal

sundaeclubber · Post by **sundaeclubber** » Mon Sep 20, 2004 2:05 am

mee3d wrote:Don't you think this is all relative?

If the only moog that you own or have played is an MG-1 then that's the greatest thing ever . . . that's why many people rate the MG-1 as it probably is their first moog ............When you upgrade to a Prodigy . . . then later a Multimoog . . . and finally a minimoog, the MG-1 pales in comparison . . . but wasn't it great for that short while?

Mal

You know, you've hit the nail on the head there!

Maybe I didn't rate my MG-1 so highly because it followed my Prodigy.

SC

mee3d · Post by **mee3d** » Mon Sep 20, 2004 3:20 am

Yea, if you buy an MG-1 after having owned a better synth it might not meet expectations . . saying that though, there are a few cheaper synths that are quite fun to play for their own merit - like The Rogue.

And then there's the case for buying synths from different manufacturers as each brand has a unique sound . . not so much with moog as they all roughly have the same "moog filter" sound but there are a lot of cheap monosynths out there from other manufacturers that can bring a new flavour to a mix.

You would be surprised how many big name acts use the JEN SX1000 for example.

Mal

sundaeclubber · Post by **sundaeclubber** » Mon Sep 20, 2004 3:32 am

mee3d wrote:.

You would be surprised how many big name acts use the JEN SX1000 for example.

Mal

.... But surprisingly few who use the Tim Orr designed Powertran Transcendent 2000!!!

mee3d · Post by **mee3d** » Mon Sep 20, 2004 4:21 am

Surely that's just down to how hard it is to find well built ones?

If the T2000 had been an "off the shelf" prebuilt synth it would have sold by the bucket load . . . I think someone missed a trick there - same with some of the excellent Maplins kits.

Mal

sundaeclubber · Post by **sundaeclubber** » Mon Sep 20, 2004 7:54 am

mee3d wrote:If the T2000 had been an "off the shelf" prebuilt synth it would have sold by the bucket load . . . I think someone missed a trick there - same with some of the excellent Maplins kits.Mal

I think some of the Maplin kits were designed by ex EMS staff too. In truth I'd always expected the T2000 to be a great sounding machine, but I've not seen one for years. One unexpectedly appeared on eBay last week, but as you say, there's no way of knowing how well built it is.

Qwave · Post by **Qwave** » Tue Sep 21, 2004 1:17 pm

Its better to play a MG-1 then no Moog at all. Somehow these little Moogs are also sounding bolder then most nowadays synths. And even a little Moog is a bigger source of inspiration to me then a softsynth.

I own three Moog right now:
Moog Prodigy (my first synth) (bought 1981)
Minimoog (bought 1983)
Moog Voyager (bought 2004)

And they are all worth every penny I spent on them !

Nick Montoya · Post by **Nick Montoya** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 10:23 pm

I love my mg1 for many reasons...

Though the polyphonic section is light and maybe a little cheesy you can run it through the 24db filter.. Tweeking the funk out of a cheesy polyphonic section is always good times for me.. Don't get me wrong , its no minimoog but it does do a few cool things the mini does not.. one for instance is , osc hard sync and another , random shape modulation
(for those real R2D2, old skool computer sounds)... The Prodigy does even have the later...

I own :

197?

Moog Prodigy
1976 Moog Minimoog Model D
198? Realistic /Moog MG1
1980 ARP Axxe
2000 Korg Ms 2000

The moogs are my favorite and sound the best.. But the korgs great for vocoder stuff and easy to access patch memory which all of my other synths lack. Two of my moogs are one of a kind for their model..

My MG 1 doesent have the realistic emblem on the back, it has the new offical moog emblem.. *(thanks to prez. Mike Adams)... And My model D has blue LED light up wheels ( thanks to the world famous synth tech Kevin Lightner)..
Kevin also didn't want me telling the whole world he did cuz' then everyone would want it.. He's only done 3 and will refuse to do more.. So don't ask him ! It was done with out my knowledge while my mini was undergoing repairs at his shop.. He did for me because he knew I was a die hard moogist and my year was going kinda shitty.. If you read this Kevin thanks again.. If you are interested in seeing a pic of my Model d with blue wheels go to http://www.synthfool.com/nicksmini.jpg This is the pic Kevin took for me to show me the work he did. It is still on his site but only through this link;) .. I guess my crazy idea to get the moog logo tattooed on my body forever wasn't such a bad idea...

Nick putrid

sundaeclubber · Post by **sundaeclubber** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 2:44 am

1976 Prodigy??

How you get one of those? Did you design it?

Love the blue wheeled D. But when are you going to post pics of your bizarre body art?!!

SC

Nick Montoya · Post by **Nick Montoya** » Fri Oct 01, 2004 12:24 am

I believe the prodigy came out in 76.. check out this page on the prodigy.
http://synthmuseum.com/moog/mooprodigy01.html

it says manufactured from 76 -84 .... I've done much work inside this machine and there is 76 and 75 on things from IC's to actually tech pencil in dates.. it is a 76 prodigy # 2930.. Who knows, maybe it wasnt on a sale floor til 78..
..

As for my tat.. If u visit the moog factory
you will see a picture of me with my tat in the lobby area.. No kidding !:)
I feel priviledged of course..I try to remain humble about it ! I sent him a framed picture of me with my prodigy under my arm and the tat totally showing.. I also sent some goodies from the gourmet grocery store I work at in California (Trader Joes).Then last Christmas I got the moog christmas presents for Dr. Bob and Mike Adams ! Wowee.. I was stoked.. Brian K of the Moog Cookbook got the same treatment along with tons of other hardcore moogists (i'm sure).. A signed 2004 moog wall calendar and moog t shirt !!!.. But anyway since you probably won't be visiting the factory anytime soon (neither will I) you can see my tat at http://www.angelfire.com/indie/rheostat/

Nick

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